Knights Archives: Of Kings and Monsters
by Requiem the Eternal
Summary: The world of Ever After is vast and full of stories; ranging from the good, the bad, and the simply hexcellent. But when Raven Queen made her choice to change, fate played her hand and a bold new adventure-nay a war-is soon to begin.(part 1 set during season 1/part 2 post WTW
1. Prologue: Devastation

_Prologue: Devastation_

 _He had expected devastation, but nothing such as this. He made his way through the rubble of the once great fortress, the remains of his kin scattered across the grounds like so much chattel. He stopped before the remnants of what seemed to be the corpses of two parents and their child. The bodies had been so mutilated that it was nearly impossible to tell that they were bodies at all, much less a family. But he knew._

 _It took most of the remaining day, but he managed to locate most of the skulls of the deceased and give them proper funeral rites. He wanted to find the complete remains of all of them, but with the amount of rubble and desolation it would have taken weeks to accomplish. He waited for sundown before finishing the ceremony; he knew the King would wish to be present. The rustle of bat's wings broke the otherwise silent night, an announcement of sorts; an indication of HIS arrival. The rustling grew louder, almost reaching a crescendo, then changed to the sound of footsteps upon the bloodstained cobblestones. The King gazed out over the grounds, taking in the destruction of his people; his children. "My son...I am sorry," was all he said. "They were outnumbered", the younger said, " They had no chance ." The King could only nod in agreement. For a time, he was silent, allowing the younger to finish the funeral rites of his fallen kin. When he finished, the elder spoke. " I have decided that you are no longer safe here in this land. His_ __ _trackers are closing in...this time was too close. You are being sent off, for protection. " "For me or mine kin ?" , the younger thought. Either way, he could not help but agree: Russia, his home these long centuries, was no longer safe; for him or his ilk. "Am I to join my sister then?". " She has already dealt with much this past year. I would rather we not get her involved in this matter." The younger was slightly confused. " If not the monster school, then where...?" "There are other schools for the children of greatness, my son. I have long held alliances with many of the nobles of this land. You will not be welcomed with open arms...but you will be safe." "I understand, Father", stated the younger and turned to leave. " Alucard," shouted the King. He turned around. "Try to behave..." Alucard only nodded curtly, walked away._


	2. Chapter 1: Warning and Arrival

Chapter 1: Warning and Arrival

 _"_ Are you sure you have your warbeads?!" "Yes, for the LAST TIME, mother" , said the young Lycyan, his ears bent forward and starting to burn red. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Luna's concern; as her adopted son he was the apple of her eye. But Redfang could at least try to calm her nerves; it wasn't as if he was going to war...this time. A gruff voice spoke up above Luna's nervous henpecking. " Beloved, stop fretting over the boy. You've already checked and rechecked his provisions four times over." Luna wasn't easily convinced, however, and continued. " Do not tell me to calm down, Red, it's his first time in a new place and he won't have any of the Pack to..." "Now you know that's not true; Badwolf's daughter is at the school and Badwolf has been one of the Pack since before Oberon rose to power. If she's half the wolf her father is, she'll recognize him immediately." "Well...I suppose..." The young mother's face still showed her worry. Aricos knew she was terrified beyond his father's consolation; this would mark the first time he had been away from for an extended period without any of his immediate family. "Mom," ( she loved it when he called her that instead of Mother) " I'm going to be alright. I promise. " She didn't say anything else, but he knew that she was a lot calmer after hearing that. " Come, Aricos; it's almost time for the portal!" , Redfang shouted. He hurried off to go join his father, waving goodbye to Luna behind him. As they sat waiting, Red spoke up in the tongue of their Pack. _"My son, listen to me. Do not speak, simply hear."_ Ari immediately nodded; his father would not speak in this way unless it was seriously important. " _As you know, Badwolf's daughter is going to meet you when you reach the school."_ Ari nodded. _"As you also know, Badwolf married the Woman of the Red Hood. This union, while honoured in the eyes of the Luna Angela and our ancestors, is not common knowledge where you are headed. IT MUST REMAIN THAT WAY; do you understand?"_ Aricos nodded again, though looked at his father questioningly. " _There is a man at this school known as Milton Grimm. He_ _must never know_ _this information. Do you understand? Never. Period. "_ Ari didn't nod this time; it wasn't needed. His father was trusting him with extremely sensitive information; he would not fail. As the portal finally appeared, Redfang spoke one last time to his son: " Remember my words, remember your Pack; remember your orders." " Yes, sir" , said his loyal son. And with that, he turned and walked through the portal.

"By Adonai..." Aricos didn't know what to expect from this new place, but what he saw was DEFINITELY not what he pictured. The castle before him stood proudly to the sky,banners flapping in the wind, parapets tall and graceful; it was simultaneously imposing and inviting ( not anything like the Obsidian Keep,which was just plain scary). One look at the place from bottom to top confirmed that while it looked non -threatening now, this place had been built as a fortress, and would easily be able to withstand a frontal assault; to say nothing of a siege. This observation came easily to Aricos; Redfang had been training him in warfare since he was a young cub. He was so caught up running strategies in his head on how the Pack could use this place(or conquer it, he wasn't picky), when a young woman's voice rang across the courtyard. " HEY, COUSIN! " He quickly scanned his surroundings, his wolf ears picking up where the call came from. He turned towards the castle to see a red blaze streak towards him. He was briefly surprised: she was faster than he remembered. She'd almost caught him off guard...almost. He quickly dodged out of the way of the oncoming streak, turned sharply around and got behind her. She stopped, stunned that he'd vanished so quickly when he'd barely noticed her coming. That is, until he lightly tapped her on the back and said clearly, "Tag; you're it." This caused the red-clad girl to leap almost 2ft in the air. Aricos smiled to himself and shrugged; " Cousin Cerise. She never changes... "

As soon as he'd gotten Cerise to calm down,(she was apparently very touchy about being caught off guard) she gave him a brief tour of Ever After High whilst they caught up. He told her of his training under his father, and his approaching induction into the Ebon Guard, the top security force in of all Necross. She told him of her studies at the school in her usual mutedly excited way. She spoke of joining the bookball team and being faster than all the boys(which wasn't surprising, given her heritage). But throughout her explanation, he took note of one detail: she never spoke of anything involving her father or Lycian upbringing. He didn't bring it up, however; Cerise had always been tentative in realizing her true limits and abilities as one of the Moon's Children. He wouldn't press the issue if it obviously made her uncomfortable. It made it all the easier to follow his father's command. Speaking of which... "Oh, right,before I forget; Headmaster Grimm wants to meet with all the new students in his office. I'm pretty sure that includes you, cuz. You'll find his office down the main hall, take the stairs on the right, go left and it'll be the biggest door in the hallway. " "OK ", Aricos replied. "Wait a second...is the headmaster's first name...", he started to ask Cerise. But as he turned around he saw his cousin had vanished into thin air... "Huh", he said to himself, " she's, quieter now too." As he already had the directions, though, he supposed he could find Grimm's office on his own. "I just hope this guy is the one Father was speaking of," he thought. "I'd prefer to know the face of my enemy...wait, **ALL** the new students?! "


	3. Chapter 2: Introductions

Chapter 2: Introductions

Aricos strolled down the hallway leading to the door of the school's headmaster, about to walk in, when his eyes picked up on a curious sight. A young man, about 16, was leaning in front of the door, his ear pressed up to it straining to listen to whatever was inside. He guessed that there must have been a pretty interesting event happening on the other side, so he sidled up next to the eavesdropper and asked quietly, " Hey, what's going on in there?" " Headmaster's arguing with some girl. Sommat about "Legacy Day" and "not following 'er story. Dunno exactly; but it's getting heated right harsh." The young man didn't turn to look at Aricos once during this; choosing to focus his efforts on listening to the apparent argument going on behind the door. Though, this was _technically_ rude, Aricos's interest was peaked, and he needed more info on this "Grimm" character anyway. So he crept up next to the youngling, and pressed his ear to the door. "And WHAT("Owch", thought Aricos. That bellow made his ears ring.) EXACTLY, Miss Queen, did you hope to accomplish by your... REBELLIOUS act?! Do you not realize the implications of your actions? How they will echo throughout the students, the faculty, the very FOUNDATIONS of this school?!" "I'm guessing that the jolly, happy, soul in there is the man Father spoke of," he said silently. "Dunno 'bout your father, mate, but  that is most definitely the man-in-charge," the young man replied. "I gotta glimpse o' the bloke when I came in. Hoity-toity almighty quack, he looked like. Not the kinda' authority I'd bother followin'; if ya' catch me drift." "Indeed," said Aricos. He doubled his concentration on the events behind the door. It sounded like "Miss Queen" was about to put in her two cents..."Headmaster Grimm, it's not as though I just randomly woke up today and thought, _Gee, Raven, why doncha just COMPLETELY THROW THE ENTIRE SCHOOL IN DISARRAY by not signing the book that'll force you to follow the destiny of your stone-cold evil mother and attempt to kill one of your friends? It'll be FUN!_ I just don't see why **MY** life, **MY** future has to have me thrown in jail _**FOR LIFE**_ for a crime I haven't, and don't even **want to** commit." "Then obviously, Miss Queen," huffed Grimm( who Ari was beginning to suspect was most **definitely** the man his father warned him of )," you are choosing to endanger the many to simply save your own skin. An attribute no doubt handed down by your mother..." "Ooh, that was uncalled for, mate," hissed the young eavesdropper. Aricos was inclined to agree. He'd met people who sounded like this "Headmaster", and they always turned out to be bad news... As he heard the female voice sputter in what he assumed to be anger, he heard Grimm bellow over her," Dismissed! " **That** is when the doors flew open...

"Probably should've moved outta the way when that door came open, bro", snickered Aricos as he saw his new friend dunk his rag into the basin next to his bed and back on his eye. "No bloody shit, Sherlock. DAMN, but that girl's got an arm on 'er. That bloody hurt." "Well, ya shouldn't have been leaning on the door so hard", Ari replied as he went about setting up his side of their dorm room. Grimm(who Aricos was now ABSOLUTELY sure was the man his father had told him to watch for) had placed them as roommates. If you asked Aricos personally, he thought it would turn out great. Lucas(his new roomie) was an ok guy; if a little mischievous..."Hey, Ari…." Yeah, man. What's up?," his roommate replied. "Whadda you think happened to that….OTHER guy?" "Ah," said Aricos, "You mean Alucard. Yeah, he's not a people-person….or a Lycian person….or an anything person really." "Waitasec, mate", sputtered Lucas. " You actually KNOW that creepy bastich?!" Ari thought back to the events of the afternoon while he replied, "Yeah….you could say he's an old family friend of sorts…."

" _I cannot speak for your families or the way you were raised, young sirs, but here at Ever After High,_ _ **eavesdropping**_ _, is_ _ **not**_ _tolerated in the least." Headmaster Grimm looked down in scorn at Ari and his new companion, but Ari could honestly care less. While_ _ **he**_ _had been able to avoid the door swinging open in young Raven's angry wake, the other youngling with him had not. The result of this was the now impressive black eye he was sporting on his left, swollen to the size of a plum and about the same color. "You young men were brought here under…" "Lycian." "I beg your pardon", flustered Grimm. Aricos spoke up once again. " You called us young_ _ **men**_ _. Can't speak for one-eye over here, but I'm_ _ **not**_ _human. I am a Lycian of Clan Redfang….." "Yes, yes, very good. Now as I was saying…" Ari was starting to get the idea that this man was a total jerk. From the look of his companion's face, he thought the same. " You young..._ _ **people**_ _, were brought here under a sworn contract stating that while you were inside these walls you would obey our rules. Lucas Lokison, Aricos of Clan Redfang, and our third young sir who has YET to make an appearance, are the first of each of your respective families and races to be enrolled at Ever After High, and I do_ _ **NOT**_ _plan on allowing you the run of the place, regardless of who your parents are!" Grimm had worked himself up to a significantly louder bellow than before; Ari could tell that he had spent some time practicing this speech in front of a mirror. However( though poking fun at the old headmaster was pretty fun), his speech_ _ **did**_ _bring up a mystery…. "Oy, guvnor. Half a minute, 'ear." Looked as though "Lucas" had beat him to the punch though. "You said a third "young sir" was supposed ta be here? Now who the heck is_ _ **he**_ _?" Grimm was about to speak up, when he froze. Aricos started, thinking the old man was having some kind of attack, when he_ _ **smelled**_ _it. It was a scent his father had rarely spoken of, a scent from bedtime stories of a war long over…..the scent of blood, age…..and_ _ **power**_ _. "Mine name, comrade," he heard in a thick Russian, " is Alucard." Ari spun around to look at the origin of the voice. It was a young man(or what_ _ **looked**_ _like one), with hair as white as a bone picked clean, skin so pale it was almost (actually_ _ **was**_ _) grey, and eyes that were older than the Black Mountain, and as red as the blood his race drank to survive. " Alucard ikru Drakona." The immortal looked at the faces in the room, from the awed face of Aricos, to the inquisitive face of Lucas, to the incredulous ( and more than a little spooked ) face of Grimm. He only smiled back, exposing his rather long, and_ _sharp_ _canines. " It is, how you say, pleasing to make your acquaintance. "_


	4. Chapter 3: Breakfast

Chapter 3: Breakfast

" _So, this is how my father feels when he is near mortals",_ thought Alucard as he walked through the halls of the school the next day. His introduction to the headmaster and his fellow students was not meant to inspire fear, but apparently fear was an automatic response to his presence. The only person he had interacted with so far who wasn't afraid of him in some way, shape, or form was the Lycian; the son of Redfang. **HE** was simply astounded at being able to meet a face from his father's mighty warrior past. However, as he walked into the cafeteria and looked around, he could almost smell the unease that permeated the atmosphere. Thanks to his father's "interference" with the headmaster and school board( Alucard was sure it was more along the lines of "intimidation"), he was not immediately recognized by the student body currently assembled. Being one of the Night's Children, unfortunately, meant that all who came in range of him were innately aware of his more….vicious traits. As he sat down at his table to partake of his meal, he pondered the question that had haunted his thoughts since his father, the King, had sent him here: why here? What could this school do to prevent a massacre such as the one that had so recently taken even more of his kinsmen? What was Dracul **doing** sending him here? He could only pray the answers would reveal themselves soon.

"No bloody way, mate; ain't a way in all Hel I'm going over there." Ari huffed and tried to reason with his roommate, "Come **on** , Lucas. He's not that bad. My father has known him for years; he said that underneath the dark, forbidding, and kind of murderous exterior, is the heart of a warrior and true friend." Lucas took a bite out of his french toast and shook his head furiously, still completely unconvinced. "With all due respect, mate, your old man is one 'o the deadliest warlords this side of Jotunheim. O'course **he'd** think ol' red-eye over there is all right." Aricos started to defend his father ( and his reputation), but then decided against it. It's not as if Lucas was wrong; Redfang **was** a very powerful Alpha of the Pack, and a feared and respected warrior known to many peoples and many realms. He wasn't _technically_ awarlord _…._ but he was as close as Ari knew. He chugged his juice(orange, of course; he'd never liked apple), shook his head and stated, " Be that as it may, I trust my father and his opinion of people. He hasn't been wrong yet." "Valid point, to be sure," replied Lucas. He was, however, about to counter that argument, when an energetic young woman's voice sprung up behind him, " What's a valid point?" The duo turned sharply to be greeted by the sight of three girls. One was immediately recognized by Aricos as his cousin, Cerise Hood. Another girl was dressed in a rather zany( if fashionable) outfit that consisted of hats, spools of thread, and a hat that Ari swore he could smell _**tea**_ coming from.(But that would be ridiculous.) And finally, the third girl was none other than the one whom they had both crossed paths with their first day; the fiery, fierce…," Raven, bloody eye-bruising, Queen. We meet again, luv." "LUCAS!", exclaimed his Lycian companion. " What?", asked Lucas, " Too much?"

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

As Alucard partook of his meal( contrary to popular belief, vampires could in fact eat mortal food, they just didn't need to ), he overheard the younglings talking of him most notably the young Lycian's defense of him. He shouldn't have been surprised; ever since the young Chance Reach and the (even _younger)_ Morbius Tennex cobbled together an army of various races together to reclaim the Lands of Light and Shadow from the Dark Lord Oberon, Reach had worked very hard at facilitating peace between the Lycian and Vampiric races especially. The two species had been locked in centuries-long blood feud that had only recently been put to relative peace; it would've been natural for the young Lycian to hate him. He was glad he didn't though; he may be immortal, but the young _dhampir_ still didn't have many friends( not that he wanted any).Finishing his meal, he rose to put his tray away and leave the cafeteria. He planned to spend this day as far from the student body as possible; if they were already uneasy near him, then things could only get worse, and Alucard had no desire to incite an incident…..well, at least not today. But unbeknownst to the young Prince, fate had other plans….

 **Meanwhile** …

Not surprisingly, in light of Lucas' outburst, Aricos had to quickly defuse the situation as a **very** angry Raven Queen was set to roast his new compatriot like a side of beef. This was not because of the younglings initial comment, though; rather what had happened afterward…

 **Ten minutes prior…**

" _LUCAS!" "What?", his companion had asked, completely indifferent to his own rudeness, " Too much?" Ari wanted to strangle him. How could he not see; if this line of conversation went on any further…. "I'm sorry...have we met before?" , asked the young woman, kind of thrown and more than a little confused. " I should say so, luv. Especially due to the fact that 'cause of_ _YOU,_ _I now got a shiner the size o' my…" "_ _ **LUCAS**_ _!", exclaimed Aricos for yet a second time, desperately trying to get a grasp on his friend's good sense. " What?", he asked. " It's the bloody truth!" " X-nay on the drop-eaves-ay….", Ari whispered in hushed tones. " If she finds out that we were snooping in on her little "talk" with the headmaster, she might…." " Hey, wait a hex!", said Raven, realization dawning on her face_. _"_ _ **Crap**_ _",_ thought Aricos, _"So close…"_

 **Back to present…**

So now they were dealing with the highly powerful (and highly **pissed** ) daughter of **THE** Evil Queen on one hand, and a disrespectful, brawl-ready, East Londoner who just so happens to be the son of the Asgardian God of Mischief and Darkness, the grand-slam of tricky deeds, **LOKI,** on the other. Both of whom, don't forget, could (if allowed) rip the school in two with their respective powers. _"By Adonai and the Luna Angela",_ wailed the youngling inwardly. " _This is_ _ **not**_ _gonna be a good day."_

If only he knew what fate had in store...


	5. Briefing Page

**Hey, everybody! Thanks a million to those who chose to read this; to be honest I never thought that (with the plethora of content on this fandom alone out there)** **anyone** **would even bother reading my little fanfic. But, y'all proved me wrong; some of you even followed and favorited!**

 **But enough gushing.**

 **I'm gonna be using these little briefing pages to answer any questions about characters or things in the story that anyone might not understand. Right now, there's only one thing that I've noted that fans of the series haven't picked up on with my oc characters; I'll be explaining this here:**

 **My oc's are** **NOT FROM THIS UNIVERSE.**

 **Now, before you fly off the handle at me, hear me out.**

 **A lot of ya are probably thinking, "** _Well, duh, the oc's aren't from the universe. YOU made 'em!"_ **Well, that both** **is** **and** **isn't** **the case. Alucard, Aricos, and Lucas are now currently in the universe of Ever After High and all of its respective sub-worlds ( Wonderland, etc. ). However, these characters and their stories originate in my primary original Knights storyline ( for those of you who are more interested in that, I am** **working on it! ),** **and** **they have entered the Ever After-verse through magical means. How they have done this will be explained in time; just know that the boys and their stories do not originate in this world, and as such,they are NOT bound by the Storybook of Legends.**

 **What this will mean for the future of the story, you'll have to wait and see. For now, just know that while they may be familiar the their surroundings ( and even have family there in Ari's case ),they are strangers in a strange land; and that's gonna be big.**

 **Thanks again for reading, please leave a question in the reviews if ya wanna know more.**

 **Goodbye and God bless!**


	6. Chapter 4: Fate's Hand

Chapter 4: Fate's Hand

As his day went on, Alucard managed to make good on his resolution to stay as far under the notice of his fellow students as possible. To be honest, it was rather easy when he thought back on it; most of the students avoided him already due to the aura of unease that his outward appearance caused. Combine that with exploitation of his powers as a _dhampir_ to avoid the lunch, class, and general rush, and he was pretty much invisible to everyone and everything. The only exception was actually **in** class; he couldn't exactly avoid anyone there.

Classes should've been ( at the extreme least ) an informative as the young prince sat at his lab table in "Evilnomics" ( _"Is this meant to be play on words",_ he thought, " _Because otherwise…it does not make much sense."),_ he realized three things:

His schedule was a strange mix of classes for what appeared to be potential heroes **and** villains.

Said classes were ludicrous, and insultingly stereotypical.

Everyone in the villain classes (unlike the rest of the school) seemed to know who he was; and these students gave him an **especially** wide berth.

Except for one.

The one in question was a young woman currently trying to feed her Teraculus Thorn, a vicious plant known for mauling its victims (mostly humans) to death before using its roots to drag them underground to feed from their corpses. Alucard was in shock that the seemingly harmless school had such a brutal course curriculum for its future villain students. Luckily, he himself had dealt with this plant **many times** whilst going about his lengthy existence. He looked over at the girl again to check on her progress (she wasn't doing very well).

Her possibly once-shimmering blond hair was tousled and dirty, sticking out in places all over her head. Her milky smooth skin was no longer milky **or** smooth; she had numerous lacerations on her hands and arms, and each cut bled freely, like ruby badges of her struggle. Her outfit, which the young _dhampir_ guessed had once been immaculate, was ripped, torn, and completely shredded in some places. The white parts of her sleeves had made contact with the blood on her arms, and now her outfit was almost completely red. All in all, she was one of the most beautiful women (young or otherwise) he had ever lain eyes upon.

None of this unparalleled beauty was helping her,however, as it was clear that the Thorn had her outmatched. Alucard watched as she frantically tried to follow the Baba Yaga's instructions and feed the unruly plant, sadly to no avail.

" _One must admire her spirit, though",_ thought Alucard. _" Many in her position would have surrendered by now."_

Shadows knew his classmates had. Each had sustained minor to serious injuries in handling the Teraculus; and each had, in turn, chosen a failing grade in the assignment rather than risk losing a limb to the plant. But not this one girl. This one had chosen to keep going despite her injuries; and to be honest, it filled Alucard with a little bit of awe. He watched as she **finally** managed to get the plant beast to settle, and went about feeding it.

Luckily, the Teraculus didn't just feed on decaying human flesh, as Baba Yaga had taught them. The carnivorous plants also fed on Deadly Nightshade berries to supplement their diet when people were smart enough to avoid or escape their clutches. It was these selfsame berries that the girl was feeding her plant, as Alucard had already done so. He himself was covered in more than a few cuts; trivial things that would heal in little time. He rested on his stool, confident that he ( and the as-yet-unnamed girl ) had this particular project completed with flying colors. He turned back towards the beauty to check her progress.

And immediately froze.

The girl's back was turned to the Teraculus; totally oblivious to the fact the plant had its thorny tendrils out, ready to strike her in the back. It was a common hunting method of the Thorn; if the prey ever got the upper hand, it would go limp, play defeat, and the minute the prey was at ease or off guard….

It was, as young mortals say, " _game over"._

And the girl still had no clue that she was essentially about to die a slow, vicious death. In public, no less.

Alucard didn't think; he didn't even _ **breathe**_. The Teraculus struck with blinding speed, a speed that could nearly rival lightning.

But to be _ikru Drakona…._ to be Spawn of the Dragon…

Was to **be** lightning itself.

Apple was ( expectedly ) oblivious to all that was going on around her as she tried to fix her outfit, which had been damaged in the struggle to feed the psycho-plant. If you asked her, she wouldn't have been able to tell you **what** happened as she herself didn't know.

One minute, she's trying to piece together her now-travesty of a skirt.

The next, some crazy-as-hex wind rushes by and nearly blows her off-balance.

Apple rounded on the source of the wind, about to deliver the most scathing round of disapproval she can muster…

But the sight that greeted her stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth.

That plant, (y'know, the one that had just recently tried to tear her to bits) was _cowering_ in its pot, completely docile; **nothing** like the flesh-craving monster from just a few minutes ago. And as she focused less on the plant and more on what- or rather _whom -_ was in front ofher, she quickly saw why.

Alucard ( the new guy ) stood just mere inches from where her back was once pointed, glaring at the plant with an almost…. _ **inhuman**_ intensity. The tendril from the Teraculus plant flung helplessly in his grip, unable to break free of the _dhampir_ 's hold.

Apple just stood there, dumbfounded. Not only was that crazy plant acting like a scared puppy, but this new guy was apparently _so_ fast, he had saved her skin before she even knew she was in danger. As Alucard let go of the tendril, it shrunk back into its pot, **trembling** under his gaze. She was frozen to the spot in awe (and a little fear) as he turned around and looked at her with the same intensity, his his crimson irises aglow with…. _ **something**_ she had never before seen in  anyone. She was still staring at him when he said in a quiet, yet serious, tone:

"Learn to watch your own back, _detenysh._ I will not always be there to save it."

 **And just like that, fate played her hand; beginning something that would stir in them that would either change them…**

 **Or destroy them.**


End file.
